Inquiring Minds

Would it be possible for me to build a small particle detector at home? I
would like to observe some of the cosmic ray particles that hit earth.

Tom

Dear Tom:

Yes, absolutely. All you need is a container with vapor, and charged
particles zipping through will leave a trail similar to the trails left by
air planes in the sky. This type of detector is called a cloud chamber.

Instead of writing down all the details, I refer you to a Scientific
American website. In January 2001, the magazine published an article on how
to build a cloud chamber. You can read this article at:http://www.sciam.com/2001/0101issue/0101amsci.html

To learn more about cosmic ray particles, the particles that you will
observe with your home-built cloud chamber, check out the public webpages of
the Pierre Auger Project:http://www.auger.org/background/index.html

The scientists of the Pierre Auger Project, including Fermilab physicists,
are building a detector to capture cosmic rays. They are particularly
interested in some of the most energetic particles ever observed in the
universe. Since those events are pretty rare, they build a very large array
of detectors.

Since there are many more low-energy cosmic particles, there is plenty for
you to see with a small cloud chamber.